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The Kinda, Sorta Manly Granny Square

You know, there are just some techniques that you just love to play with. The Granny Square is one of them. Now, I love the idea, but no matter what you do, it always seems to just come out looking all pretty and flowery. No offense, but I’m a guy. Don’t let the gay part fool you. Phillip and I are still very much manly men, with manly things, and manly desires…..despite the fact one knits and crochets. Who said the craft is just for the feminine in nature? Have you seen Phillip’s “Strange Friends?” And come on. Just because we’re two men married to each other, doesn’t mean we don’t live like bachelors. However, our decorating styles are a little different. I’m more Pottery Bar, Phillip is more Pee Wee’s Playhouse….but, this is why we love Phillip. I’m more serious, He’s more whimsical. You put the two together and hot damn, you have seriously whimsical.

I love the technique of the granny square, but one motif in and I feel I’m going to have an afghan that looks so different from what my own style and instinct is all about. However, with a ton (and I do mean a TON) of yearning yarn ready to be made into something in the back room, I thought I’d just mess around with the Granny Square.

Now, doing one giant Granny is not something new. But, if you just sorta, kinda tweak the colors and their arrangements, I found myself working on something that was a little more masculine, a little more art deco, a little more mosaic in nature. I really enjoyed it. It took me days. DAYS. I saw our the color of our carpet, the colors of the couch, contrasting natures, hues that should not be near each other suddenly go, “We actually love each other in little doses,” come to life and do what I had hoped: finally crochet a giant Granny Square that looked less like flowers, and more like artistic tile. Beset with coppers and grays, whites and tans, it really did move forward like any man should be: soft and muted on the inside, robust and striking on the outside.

I had so much fun with it that it ended up much bigger than I expected. Four and a half feet squared. And I still had a few more skeins I wanted to add to it. But, at some point, like anyone should, you need to step back and go, “Hey, man….now, you’re getting obsessive.”

(In my own defense, I really was looking forward to using up all this excess yarn).

So, there you have it. My attempt at a kinda, sorta masculine Granny Square. If you’d like it, it is yours. And if you can, pass it off to a fella. A nice decorative touch to keep him warm in his favorite chair, or draped on his favorite side of the couch. Just click here. Cheers!

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Wow! That is fantastic! Love the “tile” look you came up with. Very creative. I sure hope you are proud of this. And 54×54 is not too big. I think you should keep it for yourself as you said it goes with your color scheme. Make another one to sell.

I have a few granny square afghans in progress right now – one in worsted weight and one in sock weight (with a second one in sock weight started since the first just needs to have the remaining ends woven in). Each round is a different color, and for the sock yarn afghan, I’m using all hand-dyed yarns. The worsted weight one uses all variegated, self-striping and tonal yarns. These afghans are so gorgeous – they’re very bohemian looking, which is just what I wanted. I make my afghans about 60-66″ square – I like to be able to really wrap up in them. Those last few rounds, though … they feel like they’re going to take forever to get finished.